Transcription
Resource AidResponding to Crisis at a School(Revised 2016)*The Center is co-directed by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor and operates under the auspice of theSchool Mental Health Project, Dept. of Psychology, UCLA, Box 951563, LosAngeles, CA 90095-1563(310) 825-3634E-mail: Ltaylor@ucla.eduWebsite: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu.Permission to reproduce this document is granted.Please cite source as the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA
Responding to Crisis at a SchoolI. School Based Crisis Intervention .4Overview: Crisis Assistance and Prevention.5Presidential Policy Directive . .13Who Should Be Responsible? .15About a School-Based Crisis Team .16Crisis Aftermath Subteams . 20Maintaining Crisis response Capability and School Awareness . 21II. Some Basic Concerns for Effectively Responding to Crisis in Schools . 22Some Key Considerations in Establishing a System forSchool-Based Crisis Intervention . 23Major Facets of Crises Response . 26Responding to Crises: A Few General Principles . 27Crisis Response Checklist . 28School Crisis Guide . 30Example of One District's Crisis Checklist . 31Helping Children Cope with Violence and Disasters . 33Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Plans. 34Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters. 36III. A Few Strategic Guides for Responding to Crisis .37Resources for Parents and Caregivers. . 38Psychological First Aid: Responding to a Student in Crisis . 40A Crisis Screening Interview . 42Informing the Student and Staff . 45Sample Letter to Send Home . 46Facilitating Class Discussion . 47Schools Helping Students Deal with Loss. 48Dealing With The Media . 54District Policy Considerations . 55IV.V. Organizing and Training a School-Based Crisis Team . 61Building a School based Crisis Team .62Crisis Team Training .66Two Initial Training Sessions .67V. Crisis Response and Prevention Intervention Outcomes Related to Six MajorFacets of a Comprehensive Approach to Addressing Barriers to Learning . 712
VI. Addressing Specific Areas of Concern . 78Natural Disasters . 79Community and Gang Violence . 84Suicidal Crisis . 89Family Violence . 90Sexual Assault . 92Grief and Loss . 101Hostage Situations . 102Post Traumatic Stress Disorder . 103Recommendations on the Support and Safety of Gay and Lesbian Students . 111VII. Center Online Clearinghouse QuickFinds .112VIII. Agencies, Organizations, Advocacy, Internet Sites & Hotlines . 113IX. Self-Study Survey for Crisis Assistance and Prevention .115X. Additional References on Responding to Crisis at a School . 1213
Section ISchool-Based Crisis InterventionIn this section, you will find a brief, basic discussion of the need for a schoolto be able to plan and implement a response to crises. The material can beused to raise staff awareness of need and as shared reading prior to initiatingstaff training.Overview: Crisis Assisance and PreventionPresidential Policy DirectiveWho Should Be Responsible?About a School-Based Crisis TeamCrisis Aftermath SubteamsMaintaining Crisis Response Capability and School Awareness4
OverviewCrises Assistance and PreventionThere cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.Henry KissingerCrisis, emergency, disaster, catastrophe, tragedy, trauma – all are words heard frequently atschools today. Too many schools have had a major crisis; any school may have one soon.Besides natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, and pandemic diseases, students experienceviolence and death related to suicide, gang activity, snipers, hostage-taking, and rape. Some studentsand staff react with severe emotional responses – fear, grief, post traumatic stress syndrome. And,when a significant portion of a school’s population is affected, major facets of a school's functioningare jeopardized. When too little effort is made to intervene, the aftermath can interfere with schooland home performance, and long-term psychosocial and educational problems may ensue.Crisis intervention is for responding to, minimizing the impact of, and preventing school andpersonal crises. After a crisis, the first concern is to ensure physical safety and medical first aid; thisis followed immediately by attention to psychological considerations. Then, the emphasis is on theschool’s need to regain stability and a sense of normality so that students and staff can resumelearning and teaching. This includes attending to follow-up care as needed.Districts differ in the specificity with which they spell out procedures for schools to follow duringand in the aftermath of a crisis. Based on district policy, schools plan for emergencies. It is rare,however, for districts to have addressed, in sufficient detail, policies and procedures for what to doin the days and weeks that follow a crisis event and what to do to prevent future occurrences whenfeasible.Districts also differ in the amount of support they provide in helping schools establish and maintaincrisis response mechanisms (e.g., crisis teams) and in training staff, as well as how much districtlevel staffing is available for crisis intervention. Some, usually larger districts, may have regionalsupport crisis teams that provide crisis management, medical and psychological/counseling supportservices, media relations, and debriefing. Others provide only an immediate response.The proper handling of school crises is essential to minimizing negative impact on learning andphysical and mental health. Comprehensive crisis intervention planning and implementationprovides ways for school personnel, students, and families to return to normalcy as quickly asfeasible, address residual (longer-term) psychosocial problems, and explore preventive measures forthe future.Examples of crisis intervention include activity designed to minimize the personal and institutionalimpact of crises and establish a safe and productive school environment (e.g., that deters violence and reduces injury) emergency/crisis responses at a site collaboration with local schools (e.g., high school feeder pattern) and the community atlarge for crisis planning and response and to develop and implement strategies to enhancesafety and reduce violence, bullying, child abuse, suicide follow-up care when needed a violence prevention and resiliency curriculum designed to teach students angermanagement, problem-solving skills, social skills, and conflict resolution.5
FRAMING AND DESIGNING CRISES ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTIONExhibit 8.1 presents a prototype framework to help plan crisis assistance and prevention. (Go to theresources referenced at the end of this chapter for specific intervention ideas related to each of theseconcerns.)Exhibit 8.1Prototype Framework for Crises Assistance and PreventionScope of EventMajorSchool-widecrisis*Small GroupCrisis**IndividualCrisis***During theEmergencyPhases forwhich to n inthe Future*Major school-wide crisis (e.g., major earthquake, fire in building, gun violence on campus)**Small group crisis (e.g., in events where most students are unaffected such as a classmate'sdeath, the focus is on providing for specific classes, groups, and individuals who are upset)***Individual crisis (e.g., student confides threat to hurt self or others such as suicide, assault)Several points should be highlighted related to the prototype framework. Clearly, the scope of theevent (major school-wide crises as contrasted to small group or individual crises) profoundly shapesthe number of responders needed during the various phases of the crisis.Also, problems requiring attention during the crisis are quite distinct from those arising in theimmediate aftermath and in the days and weeks following the event (e.g., hysteria and fear ascontrasted with grief reactions and post traumatic stress).As with every intervention, multi-year strategic development requires gap analyses and prioritysetting and feasibility considerations. And, as with all student and learning supports, the work isstrengthened when a broad range of stakeholders and resources are coalesced to help with planningand implementation (e.g., students, staff, home, police, medical, and other community resources).6
WHAT ARE PRIORITIES IN ENHANCING CRISES ASSISTANCE AND PREVENTION?The prototype framework in Exhibit 8.1 can guide gap analysis and setting priorities forintervention, personnel development, and ongoing support. For more specific examples to aid gapanalysis, see the self-study survey in Appendix C.The first priority is to upgrade crisis intervention planning and response capability. This can bedone by a school's administration or by establishing a standing crisis response and preventionworkgroup. In some districts, a school-based crisis intervention team is delineated as the keyplanning and implementation mechanism. Planning groups vary in size; they benefit from theparticipation of an administrator, student support staff (e.g., nurse, psychologist, counselor), andanyone with special expertise from the district and community.Early tasks include reviewing strategic and action plans for crisis response and prevention preparing all at a school for responding to the different types of emergencies and makingspecific assignments and building capacity for crowd management, immediate medicaland psychological first aid, rumor control, and handling media preparing all at a school to implement recovery efforts so students can resume learningand staff can resume their duties and designing and building capacity for immediateaftermath counseling and debriefingAs the above basics are accomplished, the workgroup can enhance plans and capacity for providing brief and longer-term follow-up care as necessary preventing what is readily preventable.About Reviewing Strategic and Action PlansEvery school needs crisis assistance and prevention plans that establish specific responses anddelineate capacity building for implementation. The focus in strategic and action planning is on suchmatters as: who will assume what roles and functions in responding to a crisiswhat types of events the school defines as a crisis warranting a school-based responsewhat defines a particular event as a crisishow will different facets of crisis response be handled (who, what, where)how to assess and triage medical and psychological traumahow to identify students and staff in need of aftermath interventionwhat types of responses will be made with respect to students, staff, parents, district,community, mediawhat special provisions will be implemented to address language and culturalconsiderationswhich school personnel will make the responseshow district and community resources will be usedwhich personnel will review the adequacy of each response and make appropriaterevisions in crises response planswhat in-service staff development and training are needed.how will everyone be informed about emergency and crisis procedures7
Planning also addresses contingencies. What will be done if someone is not at school to carry outspecified crisis response duties? What if a location is not accessible for carrying on a plannedactivity?School crises, of course, often are community crises. Therefore, the school's plan should becoordinated with other local schools and with community crisis response personnel. The ideal is toseamlessly interweave plans and resources to enhance the benefits of the wider range of expertiseand increase cost-effectiveness.Once a general response plan is made planners can, over time, work out further details related tospecific concerns and how to prevent what is preventable. In doing so, priority is given to highfrequency and high impact concerns, such as wide-spread bullying.About Ensuring Effective Immediate Crisis ResponseAction planning focuses on establishing and preparing a response team to organize planning and training sessions for all at a schoolprovide overall coordination during a crisis responseliaison with district and school administrators and with community emergency responseagencies (e.g., fire department, police, emergency medical teams).The plan also designates which responders will take on roles and functions related to mobilizing the team when needed (e.g., telephone trees, email listservs) coordinating communications and controlling rumors first aid (medical, psychological) crowd management media evacuation and transportation individual and group supportive counseling aftermath interventionsand so forth.Every role and function needs to be backed-up by 1-2 team members in case someone is absent orincapacitated. Team contact information must be posted in visible places (e.g., next to phones andcomputers in office locations).There’s never time toplan things right./True, but there’s always timeto do things wrong!\Note: While training for delivering medical first aid is fairly commonplace, relatively little attentionis paid to preparing responders to administer psychological first aid. To correct this oversight,Exhibit 8.2 provides an overview from a guide prepared by the National Child Traumatic StressNetwork and the National Center for PTSD.8
Exhibit 8.2About Psychological First Aid in SchoolsThe National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD have madethe Psychological First Aid for Schools Field Operations Guide* and accompanying handoutsavailable online id-schoolspfaPsychological First Aid for Schools is an evidence-informed approach for assisting children,adolescents, adults, and families in the aftermath of a school crisis, disaster, or terrorism event.The guide is divided into the following sections:Introduction and OverviewPreparing to Deliver Psychological First AidThe Core Actions Contact and Engagement Safety and Comfort Stabilization Information Gathering: Current Needs and Concerns Practical Assistance Connection with Social Supports Information on Coping Linkage with Collaborative ServicesAppendicesAs stated in the manual:“The basic objectives of a Psychological First Aid provider in schools are: To establish a positive connection with students and staff members in a non-intrusive,compassionate mannerTo enhance immediate and ongoing safety and provide physical and emotional comfortTo calm and orient emotionally overwhelmed or distraught students and staffTo help students and staff members identify their immediate needs and concernsTo offer practical assistance and information to help students and staff members addresstheir immediate needs and concernsTo connect students and staff members as soon as possible to social support networks,including family members, friends, coaches, and other school or community groupsTo empower students, staff, and families to take an active role in their recovery, byacknowledging their coping efforts and strengths, and supporting adaptive copingTo make clear your availability and (when appropriate) link the student and staff to otherrelevant school or community resources such as school counseling services, peer supportprograms, afterschool activities, tutoring, primary care physicians, local recoverysystems, mental health services, employee assistance programs, public-sector services,and other relief organizations(cont.)9
Core actions are:1. Contact and EngagementGoal: To initiate contacts or to respond to contacts by students and staff in anon-intrusive, compassionate, and helpful manner2. Safety and ComfortGoal: To enhance immediate and ongoing safety, and provide physical andemotional comfort3. Stabilization (if needed)Goal: To calm and orient emotionally overwhelmed or disoriented students andstaff4. Information Gathering: (Current Needs and Concerns)Goal: To identify immediate needs and concerns, gather additional information,and tailor Psychological First Aid for Schools interventions to meet these needs5. Practical AssistanceGoal: To offer practical help to students and staff in addressing immediate needsand concerns6. Connection with Social SupportsGoal: To help establish brief or ongoing contacts with primary support persons orother sources of support, including family, friends, teachers, and other schooland/or community resources7. Information on CopingGoal: To provide information about stress reactions and coping to reduce distressand promote adaptive functioning8. Linkage with Collaborative ServicesGoal: To link students and staff with available services needed at the time or inthe futureThese core actions of Psychological First Aid for Schools constitute the basic objectives ofproviding early assistance within hours, days, or weeks following an event.”The manual stresses the importance of being flexible and devoting the amount of time spenton each core action based on the person’s specific needs and concerns.*Brymer M., Taylor M., Escudero P., Jacobs A., Kronenberg M., Macy R., Mock L.,Payne L., Pynoos R., & Vogel J. Psychological first aid for schools: Field operationsguide, 2nd Edition. (2012). Los Angeles: National Child Traumatic Stress /pfa/school/1-PFA for Schools final.pdf10
About Designing Recovery EffortsThe aftermath of any crisis may affect a significant segment of a school’s stakeholders. Of particularconcern is the need for rumor control, dealing with contagion effects, and providing support foranyone experiencing medical problems and strong psychological reactions. Recovery planning andaction focuses on specific steps to be taken in the ensuing days/weeks. The emphasis is on:(1) Preparing and circulating accurate information to minimize destructive/disruptiverumors. An example is providing teachers with accurate information about theevent and asking them to judiciously cover the matter with their students. Thepoint is not only to provide accurate information about the event, but to clarifythat the feelings students are having are natural and to remind students ofavailable resources. Provision should be made to back up teachers (e.g., thosewho feel their situation requires someone with specific skills). The same type ofinformation is relevant for staff and families.(2) Preparing and circulating a handout to all school personnel regarding what theyshould watch for in the aftermath and what they can do if anyone appearsespecially upset.(3) Implementing classroom discussions and activities that enable students to express anddiscuss feelings about crises.(4) Implementing counseling and other special supports for classes, groups, and individuals.Special expertise may be required in handling problems that arise in the days and weeks followingan event. If there is not anyone with the needed expertise at the school, referrals are indicated.As soon as feasible, planners meet for a debriefing session to evaluate how procedures worked,what revisions are needed, and to clarify preventive implications.About Brief and Longer-term Follow-upFor some at a school, extended counseling and other special supports are needed. See Chapter 9 forthe processes involved in providing student and family special assistance. Processes similar to thosepresented can be established for affected staff.Preventing What is Readily PreventablePrevention is a fundamental element of well-designed crises planning. Prevention strategies playa significant role in creating an environment in which a positive school climate can emerge.A major focus of prevention is on strategies for deterring violence and reducing injury (e.g.,violence prevention and resiliency curriculum; initiatives for conflict resolution and restorativejustice). Another facet is concern for enhancing resiliency in the form of enhanced motivationand capacity for coping with stress. At all times, the emphasis is on minimizing circumstancesthat undermine personal well-being (e.g., threats to feelings of competence, self-determination,and connectedness to significant others).11
CONCLUDING COMMENTS FOR OVERVIEWIn the context of transforming student and learning supports, developing thehighlighted range of school-based crisis intervention requires more than a typicalemergency/crisis response team. Where such a team is in place, it needs to beexpanded into a broad-based workgroup charged with planning, development,implementation, ongoing evaluation, and quality improvement related to crisisassistance and prevention. This type of standing workgroup can ensure integrationwith the other five learning supports arenas and with the district, neighboringschools, and the surrounding community.The workgroup will need members who have or will develop the specificexpertise related to crises assistance and prevention. Some members of such aworkgroup are dictated by their formal role in a school and will bring expertise(e.g., a school administrator, nurse, psychologist, social worker, counselor); inaddition, there almost always are other staff who have special expertise and willbe interested in participating (e.g., those with first aid and counseling training,those concerned with school climate and safety).Optimally, the district should provide not only policy and procedural guidelines,but also district support staff to help workgroups formulate specific plans,organize and train designated responders, and coordinate with relevant district andcommunity resources. And if any schools cannot generate a standing crisisassistance and prevention workgroup, the district and neighboring schools canpool resources to meet the need.For more specific examples of ways to enhance Crises Assistance andPrevention, see the self-study survey in Appendix C. (Also accessible ice/crisissurvey.pdf)For Free and Easily Accessed Online Resources Related toCrises Assistance and PreventionSee the special section on our website: Responding to a Crisishttp://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/crisisresp.htmSee our Center’s Resource Aid on Responding to a Crisis at a isis.pdfSee our Center’s Quick Finds on Crisis Prevention and Responsehttp://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2107 01.htm .htmlAlso see related topics listed on the Quick Find menuhttp://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/quicksearch.htmEach of the above contains citations to referencesused in preparing this chapter.12
PRESIDENTIAL POLICY DIRECTIVE hoolGuide MenuRelatedResourcesNational preparedness efforts, including planning, are nowinformed by Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8, which wassigned by the president in March 2011 and describes the nation’sapproach to preparedness. This directive represents an evolutionin our collective understanding of national preparedness, basedon the lessons learned from terrorist attacks, hurricanes, schoolincidents, and other experiences.PPD-8 defines preparedness around five missionareas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response,and Recovery.PreventionThe capabilities necessary to avoid, deter, or stop animminent crime or threatened or actual mass casualtyincident. Prevention is the action schools take to prevent athreatened or actual incident from occurring.ProtectionThe capabilities to secure schools against acts of violenceand manmade or natural disasters. Protection focuses onongoing actions that protect students, teachers, staff,visitors, networks, and property from a threat or hazard.* MitigationThe capabilities necessary to eliminate or reduce the loss oflife and property damage by lessening the impact of anevent or emergency. In this document, “mitigation” alsomeans reducing the likelihood that threats and hazards willhappen.13
ResponseThe capabilities necessary to stabilize an emergency once ithas already happened or is certain to happen in anunpreventable way; establish a safe and secureenvironment; save lives and property; and facilitate thetransition to recovery.RecoveryThe capabilities necessary to assist schools affected by anevent or emergency in restoring the learning environment.These mission areas generally align with the three timeframesassociated with an incident: before, during, and after.The majority of Prevention, Protection, and Mitigation activitiesgenerally occur before an incident, although these three missionareas do have ongoing activities that can occur throughout anincident. Response activities occur during an incident, andRecovery activities can begin during an incident and occur afteran incident. To help avoid confusion over terms and allow orease of reference, this is referred to as “before,” “during,” and“after.”14
Who Should Be Responsible?Given the complexity of crisis events and reactions, planning and implementing school-based crisisintervention require special expertise (e.g., how to deal with natural disasters as contrasted to dealingwith gang violence or suicide, how to plan for crowd management, rumor control, aftermath counseling,prevention). Thus, individuals and subgroups with diverse expertise need to be involved, and all whoare involved usually need additional specialized inservice training.Whatever happens at the school level is shaped by district policy and procedural guidelines. Inmost instances, the district's administration will have provided the school with detailed guidelinesfor handling major disasters during the emergency itself and in the immediate aftermath (seeexample in Section II). Such guidelines also should clarify available district support resources(e.g., district crisis teams, medical and counseling services).It is rarer for districts to have addressed, in the same detail, policies and procedures for what to do in thedays and weeks that follow the event and what to do to improve future responses or to prevent futureoccurrences where feasible.Regardless of what guidelines the district provides, it falls to the school to develop a specificoperational plan and to identify and prepare personnel to carry it out. This might all bedone by a school's administration. That is, they might assume the task of planning and thenidentifying and assigning specific duties to staff (e.g., school nurse, specific teachers,psychologist). However, as noted above, the diversity of expertise required suggests a broadbased approach to planning and implementation. Thus, schools probably will find the concept ofa school-based crisis team useful.The proper handling of school-wide crises is essential
preparing all at a school for responding to the different types of emergencies and making specific assignments and building capacity for crowd management, immediate medical and psychological first aid, rumor control, and handling media preparing all at a school to i
